Julia Mercedes Castilla
Julia Mercedes Castilla writes for children and adults. Her novel, Aventuras de un Niño de la Calle, published by Editorial Norma in Spanish, has sold over 125.000 copies. It is required reading in schools in Latin America. This book was published "Emilio" in Spanish. She recently wrote several stories for the Psychological Corporation (HARCOURT BRACE). At the present time she is at work, finishing an adult book and writing a book for middle grade children.
Julia Mercedes Castilla was born in Colombia, South America. She is married and has three children. She has lived in the United States for over 25 years. Houston has been home on two occasions, the first time for nine years, and the second since August of 1991.
Reviews
Family, Familia
Diane Gonzales Bertrand
Illustrations by Pauline Rodriguez Howard
Translated by Julia Mercedes Castilla
The text is in English followed by Spanish. Daniel has heard plenty of his father's boring stories about relatives in his extended Gonzalez family but his attitude changes when he accompanies his family to San Antonio for a huge reunion. There, among the lavish food tables, the mariachis playing Mexican songs, and the children breaking a piñata, Daniel makes a new friend with whom he trades candy and tosses the baseball around. When he also wins the raffle prize, a framed picture of his great-great-grandparents, he looks as if he'll eagerly look forward to the next gathering. Sharp eyes may note that Daniel's raffle ticket number shown in an earlier illustration doesn't match the later winning number. But that aside, Howard's warm and realistic colored pencil and watercolor illustrations show the various intermingled Gonzalez families joyfully celebrating, dancing, and chatting together in a park on a sunstruck day. All in all, a fine addition to the shelf of family celebration books and a good discussion starter about what families do for fun when they get together. 1999, Pinata Books/Arte Publico Press, Ages 7 to 11, $14.95. Reviewer: Susan Hepler
ISBN: 1-55885-269-7
Added 11/01/99
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